Tapered write gaps have been previously used to enhance field and field gradient, as shown in FIG. 1. It is based on the fundamental principle of increasing the choke area around the neck region so that the sides of ABS 11 are not quite parallel but, instead, converge at an angle 8 thereby providing gradual flux concentration to bring additional field to the ABS. Because of the slope of the main pole, the area A2 behind the ABS is larger than the area A1 at the ABS. So a larger ratio of A2 to A1 corresponds to more flux concentration at the ABS. Other elements shown in FIG. 1 include trailing shield 12, write gap 13, and main pole 14.
As track widths narrow, still further enhancements are needed to this flux concentration approach. While steeper tapered write gap angles can increase A2/A1, the main drawbacks are the processing difficulty and too high a sensitivity of the ABS area A1 to the ABS lapping position ‘aa’. If the taper angle θ is too large, a small displacement of ABS line ‘aa’, caused by the ABS lapping process, will result in a large change in both the ABS area and the physical width of the main pole. Therefore, methods for flux concentration are required that are not overly sensitive to changes in the angle at which the write gap lies relative to the ABS.
A routine search of the prior art was performed with the following references of interest being found:
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,621,659, Shukh et al. say “it is common to taper the pole from the larger width in the paddle region to a narrower width in the pole tip region at the ABS.” However, the form of the taper is different from that disclosed by the present invention. U.S. Pat. No. 7,151,647 (Sasaki et al—Headway) shows a yoke portion having a wide portion, a narrow portion, and a sloping flare portion and U.S. Patent Application 2006/0044677 (Li et al—Headway) teaches a plated bevel pole design where the top is wider than the bottom.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,193,815 (Stoev et al) shows an upper section of the write shield wider than the lower section. U.S. Pat. No. 7,116,517 (He et al) teaches a T-shaped pole tip. U.S. Pat. No. 7,133,253 (Seagle et al) discloses a tapered pole tip while U.S. Pat. No. 6,680,815 (Sasaki) shows a tapered write gap as part of their FIG. 9.